Breakthrough Military Applications of mmWave …...2016/04/09 · 850 GHz wireless link using brass block modules 1.03 THz traveling wave tube Single -chip 670 GHz receiver with integrated

Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited

Breakthrough Military Applications of mmWave Technology

Dev PalmerProgram Manager

Microsystems Technology Office

Briefing prepared forEMC Live 2016April 26, 2016

Distribution Statement “A” (Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited)

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency

http://www.darpa.mil


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http://www.darpa.mil/about-us/offices/mto


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MTO lives at the intersection between thephysical and digital worlds

Operate efficientlyin a congested

environment while unlocking previously unused portions of

the spectrum

Create a new business model to engage the global

electronics market for the DoD

EM Spectrum GlobalizationTactical Information Extraction

Enable resource constrained systems to coordinate, collect and analyze data at

the tactical edge

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Control of the mmWave spectrum is driven by physics

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Vacuum Electronics

Solid-statePower Amps

Laser Diodes and LEDs

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Lasers

Crowded and Contested

Untapped mm-Wave THz Optical

Commercial COTSDARPA Research

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Data points show peak power available from a single device with no distinction based on bandwidth, power efficiency, system size, or other operating parameters

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Factors affecting mmWave system performanceAtm

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COTs Solid State Sources

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mmWave technology is most appropriate for shorter-range applications such ashigh-capacity communications and target engagement radars


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Current state-of-the-art mmWave amplifiers

Performers• Raytheon RRI, Rancho Cucamonga, CA• HRL, Malibu, CA• Teledyne, Thousand Oaks, CA• Millitech, Northampton, MAKey Metrics• Frequency of Operation (E-Band, 70 – 86 GHz)• Output Power (>10 W)• Power Added Efficiency (>20%)

1.948”x1.25”x0.75”2.048”x2.225”x0.75”

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HRL GaN power amplifier

Teledyne InP power amplifier

Raytheon Packaged GaN power amplifiers

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Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited 8

Current state-of-the-art mmWave power combiners

RaytheonNorthrop Grumman


Sub-millimeter wave – the next frontier

InP High Electron Mobility Transistor with

1.4 THz fmax

30nm

850 GHz wireless link using brass block modules 1.03 THz traveling wave tube

Single-chip 670 GHz receiver with integrated local oscillator chain, mixer, and low-noise amplifier

• Wireless replacement for fiber optics and laser comms• Several-km range for terrestrial or space-based applications• Linearity and power efficiency for complex modulation• Point-to-point dedicated link with 100 Gbit/s feasible

Images courtesy of Northrop Grumman Corporation

Data in the field is exploding

• Argus IS camera outputs 1,854 Gbps; the uncompressed bandwidth of the Common Data Link is 274 Mbps

• Assuming a 10:1 compression rate and that the entire radio bandwidth is dedicated to the sensor stream, there is roughly a 1000x ratio between need and capability

In one configuration, a single Global Hawk requires 500 Mbps 500% of the total bandwidth available to the entire US military during Operation Desert Storm

Global Hawk

Argus Camera

DISTRIBUTION STATEMENT A. Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. 10

Radar Systems

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High channel capacity in a pop-up infrastructure

Provide a 1 Gb/s network to interconnect widely-dispersed and highly-mobile expeditionary units

Provide 100 Gb/s to 200 km from a high-altitude, long-endurance (HALE) platform to a ground station

Mobile Hotspots (MHS) 100 Gb/s RF Backbone (100G)

Key enablers:• High power and efficient linear solid state sources• Multiple polarizations and high order modulation techniques


Multifunction RFEnable US rotary wing aircraft forces to fight effectively in Degraded Visual Environments

(DVE) when our adversaries cannot

• Develop an electronically agile radar to address all elements of combat including landings, takeoffs, navigation, lethality and survivability, with the flexibility of adding new mission functions, all while reducing SWAP-C

• Develop phased arrays using silicon-based tile technology to provide the complex architectures required for multi-functionality affordably

• 64-element beamformer tile with –1 dBm radiated power per element and 13.7 dB receiver NF per tile; dual polarization

• 8HP SiGe BiCMOS beamformer draws 8 W while radiating 50 mW• Improving beamformer efficiency by 2X would reduce system weight by

20% and eliminate need for liquid cooling12

High-resolution imaging radars

Video Rate Synthetic Aperture RadarClose air support through clouds and dust

• Develop and flight test a flyable EHF-band(235 GHz) radar with 0.2 m resolution at 7 Hz frame rate and one-frame latency on background and moving targets

• Detect and locate moving targets to 1 m accuracy• Classify moving targets, such as vehicles and

dismounts, based on radar signatures



Defense is nearly irrelevant to the semiconductor market

*From Yearly Reports of the Semiconductor Industry Association

US DoD Portion~$1B0.0

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Diverse Accessible Heterogeneous Integration (DAHI)

GaN HEMT RF MEMSInP HBT

Advanced Si CMOS substrate

©Jeff Topping / The National © blogpcnews.com

Multi-project wafer run, January 2015

DAHI on-wafer integration

Leverage commercial silicon processes and add the DoD “secret sauce” on the back end

Northrop Grumman


Phased array or Massive Multiuser MIMO?

MIMO = Multiple Input Multiple OutputSmartphone icon fromhttp://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/6nT/X47/6nTX47MiB.png

One or few links (beams)High data rate (bandwidth)

Long rangeBoth ends mobile

Many usersHigh throughput

Short rangeMobile users, fixed infrastructure

EIRP = Equivalent Isotropically Radiated PowerSmartphone icon fromhttp://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/6nT/X47/6nTX47MiB.png Distribution Statement A: Approved for Public Release, Distribution Unlimited 16

• Each element must have independent phase and amplitude control (common RF source)

• High EIRP• Calibration is an issue

• Each element must function as an independent transceiver

• Low cost• Stability is an issue

Technology drivers

• Low noise figure• High linearity• High power efficiency


• The mmWave spectrum is important to the DoD• Enables greater channel capacity for communications• Enables higher resolution for target imaging for ID and engagement

• DoD and commercial applications in the mmWave spectrum have different component technology drivers

• DoD systems focus on high EIRP for one or few links (beams)• Commercial systems focus on high throughput to multiple users

• DARPA must leverage the commercial investment in 5G mmWave technology• Incorporate commercial best practices into DoD system design• Identify common component technology drivers and collaborate on development

DARPA and the commercial world

www.darpa.mil


Dev [email protected]

Documents

Breakthrough Military Applications of mmWave …...2016/04/09 · 850 GHz wireless link using brass block modules 1.03 THz traveling wave tube Single -chip 670 GHz receiver with integrated